Winter's over, but the winter weather isn't

One of the coldest March weekends across the UK in decades has caused widespread disruption

A snow plough clears the A6 road near Buxton in central England [Reuters]

A spring storm that has moved in from the Atlantic is bringing chaos to much of the UK this weekend.

Heavy snow, strong winds and flooding rains have been felt all across the country.

The snow began on Wednesday night and as of Saturday morning, it was still falling. Snow accumulations of 25cm and higher have already been reported in Belfast. On Friday the World Cup qualifier game between Russia and Northern Ireland was postponed in the city when the snow was just too heavy for the game to take place.

Over 40,000 people experienced power cuts, as well as more than 1,000 schools closed by weeks end due to the severe winter-like weather. The lack of electricity and the below average temperatures means that certain groups of people have been placed in a higher risk of hypothermia.

The roads and airports have also felt the impact of the unusual weather. Birmingham Airport has suspended all arrivals and departures, while Leeds Bradford is expected to see significant delays. On the motorways, 70 people were rescued after being stuck in drives in Cumbria.

To the southwest, it was the flooding that was a major concern caused by the heavy rain. UK’s Environment Agency issued 91 flood alerts for the region. In Cornwall, a house partially collapsed after a landslide, killing one person.

The worst of the snow is expected to end by Saturday night, but the temperatures are forecast to stay cold all the way through Thursday. This is in stark contrast to the March of 2012 when many parts of Britain saw record highs.